‘Divide and Conquer’: Inside the Oil and Gas Strategy to Thwart EU Green Laws
U.S. fossil fuel majors led efforts to ensure corporations would not have to introduce climate action plans.
‘Divide and Conquer’: Inside the Oil and Gas Strategy to Thwart EU Green Laws - DeSmog
A public relations firm for major U.S. polluters worked to dismantle EU laws that require large corporations to make plans for cutting emissions.Joey Grostern (DeSmog)
New Report Warns of Critical Climate Risks in Arab Region | Foundations of daily life, including farms, reservoirs and aquifers that feed and sustain millions, are being pushed to the brink
New Report Warns of Critical Climate Risks in Arab Region - Inside Climate News
Foundations of daily life, including farms, reservoirs and aquifers that feed and sustain millions, are being pushed to the brink by human-caused warming.Inside Climate News
Shifting Climate Alters Pattern of Atlantic’s Giant Seaweed Blobs
Blooms of yellowish-brown seaweed along the Equator are breaking records and defiling beaches, while a centuries-old patch farther north is disappearing.
Inside the climate group working everywhere but DC: ‘You can still have huge wins’
Inside the climate group working everywhere but DC: ‘You can still have huge wins’
Climate Cabinet supports candidates in state and city races as the federal government ignores the climate crisisWhitney Bauck (The Guardian)
EU climate chief criticises China, India and Saudi pushback on carbon tax
cross-posted from: mander.xyz/post/43026095
Web archive link...
The carbon border tax, which comes into force from January, was behind an attempt by the big exporters to scupper wider negotiations on climate action at the latest UN summit in Brazil.
Speaking in the aftermath at COP30, Wopke Hoekstra told the Financial Times that the petrostates had also been “more assertive” across the board in a bid to thwart climate agreements as the shift to cleaner energy systems accelerates.
“Some of those making money out of [fossil fuels] are seeking to prolong that process. We have seen this quite explicitly,” he said. “Some of the petrostates are seeking to at least slow down rather than speed up [the energy transition].”
He added: “I have sensed a certain sense of assertiveness that might not have been there five or 10 years ago.”
...
During public and closed-door meetings at the two-week talks, some of the developing countries argued the tax, or carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), was a unilateral measure that would drive up costs, restrict trade and hinder their ability to grow their economies.
The tax will initially apply to products such as steel, cement and fertilisers, and aims to ensure imported goods meet similar green standards to those produced inside the EU or face an additional charge.
...
Hoekstra said the criticism was “clearly not very credible”, adding that in one-on-one conversations many countries “acknowledge it is clearly a climate tool” rather than a trade measure.
...
More than 80 countries had rallied around a proposal at COP30 for a so-called road map to help countries wean their economies off fossil fuels.
But the plan failed to appear in the final agreement after objection from more than 30 other countries [particularly China, Russia, and petro-states in the Middle East]....
EU climate chief criticises China, India and Saudi pushback on carbon tax
Petrostates becoming ‘more assertive’, Wopke Hoekstra tells FTAlice Hancock (Financial Times)
Donner Resigns as Co-Chair of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body
Donner Resigns as Co-Chair of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body
University of British Columbia climate scientist Simon Donner has resigned as co-chair of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB).Mitchell Beer (The Energy Mix)
Tiny cup corals show accelerating ocean acidification in the Salish Sea
Tiny cup corals show accelerating ocean acidification in the Salish Sea
University of Washington oceanographers decoded data from two sets of native coral samples collected more than a century apart, and found acidification there was accelerating.Bellamy Pailthorp (KNKX Public Radio)
The Cost of Climate | Extreme weather and changes in seasonal patterns are fundamentally altering the landscape, in cities and in farming communities. You’re going to pay for it.
The Cost of Climate
Extreme weather and changes in seasonal patterns are fundamentally altering the landscape, in cities and in farming communities. You’re going to pay for it.Gabrielle Gurley (The American Prospect)
Global race to secure critical minerals for weapons threatens climate, warns report
The study from the Transition Security Project – a joint US and UK venture – reveals how the Pentagon is stockpiling huge stores of critical minerals that are needed for a range of climate technologies including solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and battery storage.
Global race to secure critical minerals for weapons threatens climate, warns report
Study reveals US earmarked billions to stockpile critical minerals for military use, including precision-guided weaponry and AI-driven warfareMatthew Taylor (The Guardian)
If Cars Are Too Expensive, Just Pump More Gas. What?
The net benefit is put at just $24 billion or, using households as a proxy for families, a princely $181 per household spread over five years. The $925 figure, meanwhile, equates to less than 2% of today’s average vehicle price. Even assuming it were actually realized, at $3 per gallon it would be eaten up by extra gasoline costs within three years....
In the real world, relaxing mileage standards, along with the earlier removal of penalties for missing them, will spur Detroit to sell more of the higher margin, lower fuel-economy, trucks and SUVs at the core of its business model, as opposed to shifting production toward smaller, cheaper models.
The fuel economy standard being repealed is one that's incredibly beneficial to consumers — it both encourages the production of less expensive vehicles, and saves on fuel costs.
New Fuel Economy Rules Won't Save Drivers Much
The Trump administration has hit upon an unorthodox solution to the cost-of-living crisis: Pumping more gasoline. Executives from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co.Liam Denning (Bloomberg)
New England warming faster than most places on Earth, study finds
New England warming faster than most places on Earth, study finds
Pace of area’s temperature rise, outpaced in US only by Alaskan Arctic, apparently increased in past five yearsOliver Milman (The Guardian)
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Colorado mandates ambitious emissions cuts for gas utilities
Colorado mandates ambitious emissions cuts for its gas utilities
Resisting industry pressure, regulators ordered a 41% emissions reduction by 2035.Canary Media
Trump embraces gas guzzlers and air pollution by weakening fuel economy standards
Trump embraces gas guzzlers and air pollution by weakening fuel economy standards
The Trump administration proposed a major reversal of Biden-era fuel economy standards.Justine Calma (The Verge)
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Trump administration moves to revoke key permit from another offshore wind project proposed near Mass.
Trump administration moves to revoke key permit from another offshore wind project proposed near Mass. | WBUR News
This represents the latest move by the Trump administration to target the offshore wind industry in the U.S.Miriam Wasser (WBUR)
LA Wildfire Survivors Want to Rebuild All-Electric, but a Utility Is Using Customer Funds to Incentivize Gas Appliances
LA Wildfire Survivors Want to Rebuild All-Electric, but a Utility Is Using Customer Funds to Incentivize Gas Appliances - Inside Climate News
California’s utility regulator said it would eliminate ratepayer-funded incentives for gas appliances in new construction, but created an exception that allows rebates for them in wildfire rebuilds.Inside Climate News
Governor Hochul Buys Time on Pollution Rules | New York State is ready to collect data on emissions, but is fighting a court order to cut them.
Hochul Buys Time on Pollution Rules
New York is ready to collect data on emissions, but is fighting a court order to cut them.New York Focus
These companies want to block the sun to cool the planet | The world’s most controversial climate solution is becoming a private industry.
Theoretically, rogue billionaires could afford to at least start changing the climate on their own. That’s the premise of the science fiction novel “Termination Shock,” which inspired Iseman to found Make Sunsets in 2022.
Dystopian sci-fi isn't something you're supposed to imitate.
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I suspect that this won't work out but those in charge will somehow end up creating the sonnengewehr.
Starting from 1MM dollars
Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call. | When private models sow confusion, it’s a flashing warning sign that Washington needs to fix federal flood maps
Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call.
When private models sow confusion, it’s a flashing warning sign that Washington needs to fix federal flood maps,Susan Crawford (Moving Day)
‘Too small to matter’ is the laziest-possible excuse in climate debate | At a time of crisis, co-operation is the only way to resolve the climate collective-action problem
‘Too small to matter’ is the laziest-possible excuse in climate debate
At a time of crisis, co-operation is the only way to resolve the climate collective-action problemHannah Daly (The Irish Times)
The environmental costs of corn: should the US change how it grows its dominant crop?Amid concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, Trump administration has abolished climate-friendly farming incentives
The environmental costs of corn: should the US change how it grows its dominant crop?
Amid concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, the Trump administration has abolished climate-friendly farming incentivesGuardian staff reporter (The Guardian)
The right wants to keep and strengthen hierarchy. The problem with renewables is that they are much harder to control. Solar can be installed on the roofs, balconies and the like, which can be done by a lot of people. So hard to control. Even wind turbines can be easily built by a village or other larger group, like a rich farmer. Compared that to a gas power plant, which takes millions in investment or even more so a nuclear power plant, where we are talking billions. That is also true for things like EVs, which can be charged at home using solar.
There is a lifestyle where you own your own home, have some solar on the roof, charge an EV with it and have a garden producing some food. That is like 2/3 of a normal persons budget. So if you can work a bit to make ends means, that can create a lot of freedom. Especially if it is self employed job and considering that your basic needs are mostly covered that risk is acceptable. That sort of population would be a nightmare to control in a hierarchy.
Fair point, but during all that time information was centralized. You couldn't talk to people from the next city-state over, you couldn't read the holy text, you would never see the consequences of slavery, you wouldn't hear another country's public radio use car ownership as the premise of a joke, you couldn't see the victims of genocide livestream their slaughter.
With the free internet, every day is an experience that we have more in common with people across the world than with capital owners.
Why would they be resorting to something as self-destructive as fascism if they weren't desperate? Do you think billionaires like kissing Trump's ring and losing billions on protectionism? They just prefer it over equality.
California back slides all the time. It’s banned for now but give it a couple of years and They will backslide somehow. This is America, land of the backsliders
- 2020 ban → 2022 backslide/delay — Flavored tobacco
- 2014 ban → 2016–2020 backslide — Plastic bags (thicker “reusable” plastic bags allowed)
- 2020 ban → 2021–2022 backslide — Foam takeout containers (local rollback delays)
- 2006 ban/rule → 2010–2024 backslides — Diesel truck emissions (multiple extensions)
- 2018 ban → 2019–2020 backslide — Animal-tested cosmetics (federal conflict exemptions)
- 2022 ban → 2023–2024 backslide — Gas car phase-out (hybrid carve-outs, compliance easing)
Operation Bluebird – La bataille d’une startup pour arracher la marque Twitter des mains d’Elon Musk
C’est un scénario qui semble tout droit sorti d’une série juridique télévisée, mais qui se joue actuellement dans les bureaux de l’USPTO (l’office américain des brevets et des marques). Une startup de Virginie, baptisée non sans ironie « Operation Bluebird », a lancé cette semaine une offensive contre l’empire d’Elon Musk. Leur objectif ? Rien de moins que de faire annuler les marques déposées « Twitter » et « Tweet » détenues par X Corporation, expliquant que le multimilliardaire les a purement et simplement abandonnées.
Si cette démarche juridique aboutit, elle pourrait marquer l’un des retournements de situation les plus spectaculaires de l’histoire de la tech avec le retour du véritable Twitter, l’oiseau bleu et tout ce qu’il représentait, sous une nouvelle direction. Le cœur de la pétition déposée par Operation Bluebird repose sur l’abandon, un concept clé du droit de la propriété intellectuelle. Selon la startup, Elon Musk a fait bien plus que simplement changer un logo, il a délibérément et publiquement détruit la marque Twitter. Le texte est sans équivoque:
« Les marques TWITTER et TWEET ont été éradiquées des produits, services et du marketing de X Corp., abandonnant effectivement la marque historique, sans aucune intention d’en reprendre l’usage. L’oiseau Twitter a été cloué au sol. »
Les fondateurs d’Operation Bluebird, dont l’avocat Michael Peroff, s’appuient sur les propres déclarations du PDG de X pour étayer leur dossier. En juillet 2023, il avait tweeté une phrase désormais célèbre: « Nous dirons bientôt adieu à la marque twitter et, progressivement, à tous les oiseaux ». Pour Peroff et ses associés, c’était le signal que la marque était libre d’être revendiquée. En droit américain, si l’une d’elles n’est plus utilisée et que son propriétaire n’a pas l’intention de s’en resservir, elle peut potentiellement être annulée et réattribuée.
twitter.com/elonmusk/status/16…
Le projet – Ressusciter la place publique numérique
Mais Operation Bluebird n’est pas qu’une simple manœuvre de trolls juridiques. Derrière ce nom de code se cachent des vétérans de l’industrie, dont Stephen Coates, qui n’est autre que l’ancien directeur juridique de Twitter. Leur ambition est concrète, lancer un nouveau réseau social à l’adresse Twitter.new. Un prototype fonctionnel existe déjà et la plateforme invite dès à présent les utilisateurs à réserver leurs noms d’utilisateur. Pour lui, l’objectif est de retrouver la magie perdue de l’ancien Twitter. Il évoque avec nostalgie l’époque où la plateforme était véritablement le pouls de l’actualité mondiale:
« Je me souviens d’il y a quelque temps, des célébrités réagissaient à mon contenu sur Twitter pendant le Super Bowl ou de grands événements. Et nous voulons que cette expérience revienne, cette place publique globale où nous sommes tous connectés. »
Malgré l’émergence de concurrents sérieux comme Threads (Meta), Mastodon ou Bluesky, aucun n’a réussi à capturer l’essence de ce qu’était Twitter avant le rachat de 2022. Michael Peroff souligne qu’aucune alternative n’a atteint l’échelle nécessaire pour peser dans la conversation nationale de la même manière.
Une opportunité commerciale face à la dérive de X
Au-delà de la nostalgie, il y a une logique économique implacable derrière Operation Bluebird. Depuis la transformation de Twitter en X, la plateforme a vu fuir de nombreux annonceurs, effrayés par la montée des discours extrémistes, des arnaques et des contenus pour adultes non modérés. Une étude récente de Kantar Marketplace, publiée en septembre 2024, révélait que 26 % des spécialistes du marketing interrogés prévoyaient d’abandonner leurs campagnes publicitaires sur X. C’est précisément là que Peroff voit une ouverture. Les marques sont coincées sur ce réseau social faute d’alternative viable offrant la même réactivité. Operation Bluebird promet donc un retour à une modération plus stricte et un environnement plus sûr pour les marques, utilisant le nom et le logo (l’oiseau emblématique) pour rassurer instantanément le marché. Alors que Threads commence à peine à intégrer de la publicité et que Bluesky reste pour l’instant sans annonces, un nouveau Twitter capitalisant sur une marque mondialement connue pourrait théoriquement séduire les entreprises orphelines de l’ère pré-Musk.
Les experts juridiques sont partagés
La grande question demeure: cette audacieuse tentative a-t-elle une chance réelle d’aboutir ? Les avis d’experts en propriété intellectuelle sont nuancés, mais la porte n’est pas totalement fermée. La situation est complexe. X pourrait défendre ses marques s’il parvient à prouver qu’il les utilise encore, même de manière minime, ou qu’il a l’intention de les réutiliser. Mais un simple usage symbolique ne suffirait pas. C’est là tout le paradoxe, tout le monde appelle encore le site « Twitter » par habitude, mais l’entreprise fait tout pour effacer ce nom. X Corporation aura quand même du mal à se défendre. L’argument de l’abandon est puissant lorsque le PDG lui-même a publiquement rejeté l’ancienne identité.
Vers un Twitter 2.0 ?
Pour l’instant, ni Elon Musk ni X Corporation n’ont répondu aux demandes de commentaires. Mais le silence ne durera probablement pas. Si l’USPTO donnait raison à Operation Bluebird, cela créerait un précédent fascinant dans le monde des affaires. Imaginez un instant, fin de l’année prochaine, vous pourriez vous connecter sur Twitter.new, voir le logo de l’oiseau bleu et retrouver une plateforme gérée par d’anciens cadres de l’entreprise, pendant qu’Elon Musk continuerait de gérer X de son côté. Ce scénario, qui semblait impossible il y a encore quelques mois, est désormais une possibilité juridique tangible. La bataille pour l’âme (et le nom) de l’oiseau bleu ne fait que commencer.
Twitter.new: The New Twitter Social Media Platform
Reserve your handle on Bluebird - The future of social networkingwww.twitter.new
The red USB key, the little weakness that will lose you
The red USB key, the little weakness that will lose you
An experiment carried out in Luxembourg this summer shows that, despite ten years of awareness-raising and widely-documented cyber-risks, a significant proportion of the population still pick up and plug into their computers USB keys they come across…en.paperjam.lu
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Poland Weighs Donating MiG-29 Jets to Ukraine in Exchange for Drone, Missile Tech
The Polish armed forces’ General Staff said on Tuesday that “talks are underway,” noting that the aging Soviet-era aircraft are nearing the end of their operational life and will not be modernized.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/kyivpost.com…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
Is Europe ready to pull the trigger? Officials whisper about dumping US treasuries if Trump cuts Ukraine deal
European governments US Treasuries: European governments are considering a radical economic strategy by possibly selling off US Treasury bonds to counter a feared Trump-Putin agreement that could jeopardize Ukraine's security. This unprecedented response could trigger a financial crisis in the US and severely impact the global economy.
Archived version: archive.is/20251209220744/econ…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
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Russian children flood Kremlin with complaints after Roblox ban
Russia announced on Dec. 3 that it had banned the platform over child-safety issues.
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Fact check: debunking Trump’s claims on immigration and affordability in Pennsylvania
The US president made baseless claims during remarks on cost of living that meandered into racism and bigotry
Donald Trump made a series of false and baseless claims in Pennsylvania on Tuesday during a speech that was billed as an address on affordability, but quickly became a meandering, campaign-style rally.
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The US is identified as part of the threat picture in Denmark
For the first time, the United States is being identified as part of the threat picture against Denmark.
Archived version: archive.is/newest/swedenherald…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
US could ask tourists for five-year social media history before entry
The plan would affect people from countries, including the UK, which can fill out a form in lieu of a visa.
Archived version: archive.is/20251210115421/bbc.…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Trump
President Donald Trump's administration wants the International Criminal Court to amend its founding document to ensure it does not investigate the Republican president and his top officials, a Trump administration official said, threatening new U.S. sanctions on the court if it did not.
Archived version: archive.is/20251210120244/reut…
Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.
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calliope
in reply to silence7 • • •Who wants to tell them that floods don’t always just target the same places all the time?
phutatorius
in reply to silence7 • • •The indisputable fact that flood maps are going to have to be updated based on climate change makes some people uncomfortable: especially those whose activities are worsening climate change, and those whose income will be greater if they sweep the bad news under the rug.
Well, fuck them. People are entitled to the best information so they can make informed decisions.